We have decided to consolidate all our discussions onto just Twitter and Instagram, wrote community manager Ana Marie Alanes to @everyone. It was the first server death I’d personally witnessed but I’m guessing it won’t be the last, given how recent developments in reputation and identity tokens could streamline the process of Web3 community building.
Decentralizing identity and community building in Web3 is becoming increasingly important as the blockchain industry grows. Discord, which was originally designed for Twitch streamers to keep up with their followers, was the de facto gathering place for crypto communities due to its ability to gate users behind different roles. However, with the introduction of Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin’s soulbound tokens (SBTs) and other forms of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), users can now build an identity that is portable across different decentralized apps (dapps). SBTs can be used for determining interest rates in DeFi lending pools or, eventually, as composable elements of a group credit score, allowing decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to arrange financing or compose financial instruments with streams of income or loans.
Twitter, Reddit, and other template-based forums have been used to capture and sell to audiences of enthusiastic supporters, while MakerDAO and Chainlink have used their respective forums to hold monthly community calls and post bounty programs. NFT communities have also followed the same model as altcoins, but have kicked it into overdrive.
However, older users may have difficulty navigating Discord, and younger users may be eschewing monolithic online identities in favor of a more discombobulated existence. Therefore, it is important to create a user-friendly, seamless onboarding experience for all users.